Rest Day at base camp Friday April 30th

Friday April 30th
Back to base camp rest day
Sleep well after the long trip down form camp 2 and the weather was much more pleasant. It was a little windier but it was at least 30 degrees warmer than what we had left. I wanted to take a shower but the wind was too much for today so I will wait until tomorrow. It has only been 6 days since my last one so 1 more day couldn’t hurt but I know I needed and wanted one.
I got my tent re organized for my next 4 days in camp. I am still a little sore on my shoulder, my legs hurt a bit, and I lost 1 toenail off my left foot ( 2nd toe which I damaged in Kilimanjaro in Feb )but it looks pretty good and I feel pretty good.
I also got a good hot shave. I have been trying that new 5 blade system my little Leah told me about but I hated to pay so much for the blades. But after a few shaves up here, I am beginning to like it. It shaves the longer beard better and it stays shorter longer. Thanks Little Leah as always you are the “savvy” consumer.
I will be trying to eat 3 meals a day and drinking as much as I can in the next few days to try and get ready for the next round on Tuesday morning. We will leave on our way up to camp 3 and will be gone for 4 more days. It will be just Nima and Nawang as Jim will stay in camp to get things ready for the summit run when we return. If you look at Jim original itinerary, we will only be a day behind if I successfully complete the next run so that is not so bad after I lost a week due to sickness. At this point he is worried about the “blue ice” on the Lhotse face and the fixed lines. They have installed 1 rope for going up and 1 for going down but in the opinion of many, the ropes are too far apart and could cause some issues with people trying to switch back and forth due to slow people. When it is nothing but ice to climb on, the crampons do not have much “gripping” power so people easily could have accidents as they unhook to try and get around people and the other rope not is a safe option to use due to the distance. I know it is hard to explain but to a mountaineer, it makes sense as not every person moves at the same rate and you have to have ways to pass on these steep slopes.
I sat down and wrote 5 days worth of blogs to cover the last 5 days on the mountain. Words cannot describe the feelings of what I just went through over the 5 days.(Good , Bad and the Ugly) I try in many ways to write words to make sure I keep the memories for the future but sometimes I cannot find the right way to express myself.
We had trouble with the satellite today and could not get on the internet yesterday. Jim and I downloaded our UUPlus email off the Thuraya Satellite which wasn’t the most efficient but we managed to get them downloaded and I responded to as many of you as possible. I really appreciate all the emails of support and information. As of yesterday, I have heard from people spread over 6 of the 7 continents and have heard from people I have not seen or heard from in more than 10 years in the last 3 ½ weeks so this is pretty incredible.
The weather turned bad around 3 pm today and the snow started. After several hours in the Communications tent (freezing to death and trying to type in below freezing weather), we retreated to the dining tent to just sit and talk and stay out of the weather in front of the heater. By the time we had finished dinner it was almost 9 pm and we headed for the comforts of the sleeping bag to warm up the cold feet.
By the time, we laid down the sky was full of stars and the moon was shining bright. I could only look at the Ice Fall and know I have only a few more days before I go back into there. The night was quite active with avalanches all around and we even heard a big “Thud” that sounded like it was in the ice fall but at this stage we do not know where it happen and what it did. I will most likely see when I go back on Tuesday.